Immortal Rain
by MoonlightShadowWalker15
Summary: Darkness, the moon casts a faint glow over a small sleeping village, all is peaceful. Suddenly a piercing cry splits the air, it is a signal, and all hell breaks loose. The air is thick with the scent of blood and billowing smoke. R&R plz
1. Past

Past

Darkness, the moon casts a faint glow over a small sleeping village, all is peaceful. Suddenly a piercing cry splits the air, it is a signal, and all hell breaks loose. The air is thick with the scent of blood and billowing smoke. The pained screams of villagers as they are viciously slaughtered echo loudly through the ears of a small ten year old girl huddled in fear in a small shadow between the cabins. Her dark hair covers her face as she tries in vain to block out the nightmare that has suddenly entered her normally quiet life. She is terrified as she had become separated from her mother when the Raiders hit and could not find her before her little panicked mind told her to hide. Her only comfort is from the small bundle of fur held tightly in her arms. The tiny wolf pup senses her distress and with small mewing cries cuddles closer to the only mother he has ever known.

It is over as fast as it began. The Raiders, having satisfied their need for violence, leave in a flurry of activity not even stopping to loot the dead and definitely not stopping long enough to notice the sole survivor of their terrible massacre.

As soon as she is sure the attack is over and the Raiders are gone the girl silently creeps out of hiding, tears streaming down her face. Still clutching the young wolf pup to her chest she begins to search for her mother. It does not take long, her mother is still where she has fallen, laying face down in front of their small cabin, slaughtered on her way to look for her daughter in the only place she could think of, "home". The young girl breaks into hysterical sobs and collapses onto the ground beside her mother. Leaning over she turns her mother face up and gasps in wonder. It is not the face of the woman she knows so well, instead it is the beautiful, sculpted face of an Elvin lady, with pale smooth skin and pointed ears, and sapphire eyes exactly like her own. The girl stares with her mouth agape frozen by the exotic beauty of the woman before her. Then in an instant the face changes, it becomes the face of a Raider woman, hideous and blood stained, with sharp teeth and horrible scars. The girl lets out an ear shattering scream and keeps on screaming.


	2. Rain

Rain

Fifteen year old Rain wakes up screaming. "It is just a nightmare," she whispers to herself, "It is only a dream, the past cannot hurt me anymore." Still shaking she lies down again with her hand curled on her thumping chest and tries to slow her racing heart.

Then once again she jumps in fright as a large shape moves in the not quite darkness, however, after her first moment of shock she laughs despite of herself. "Why am I being so jumpy," she thinks to herself, "After all it is only Silver". Silver, a large grey wolf, and the cause of Rain's small fright, pads silently up to her and licks her cheek in silent greeting. Rain now sufficiently calmed greets her companion in a soft whisper as well as with her mind, "Greeting silent hunter, how is the prey running?"

Rain hears Silver's answer in her mind, "The prey is bountiful and I was about to start a fat young buck until your screams scared him off."

"I am sorry Silver, "I did not mean to scare off your prey," Rain said sadly. "However with your expert hunting skills we should be able to catch a decent meal tomorrow, don't you think?" she finishes with a hint of joking sarcasm, even though what she said contains more than a hint of truth. Rain, who is partially starved, but now completely recovered from reliving such a brutal part of her past states, "Well Silver, my friend, it is late and I must rest if we are to find any food tomorrow, sweet dreams night stalker."

Silver, noticing Rain's fear scent which hangs heavy in the air, is able to piece together what occurred. Even though he no longer fears for Rain's physical safety, he is worried about his human pack mate, and decides against further hunting and settles down to watch over the camp. As he tires of watching the endless trees and fleeting shadows of the deep forest, he turns his piercing blue gaze towards his companion.

"She has grown up in more ways than one since that terrible night, she is older and wiser both physically and mentally. Even though she has always had better reflexes and senses that most humans in the village, living alone in the wilderness has developed her abilities far beyond those of a normal human. It is even stranger that she has a different feeling around her, she isn't like normal humans, she is special and I think that it will take people of her own kind to realize it. I should get rest now as she will need my protection tomorrow," Silver thinks, and slowly drifts into a deep thoughtful sleep.


	3. Eyes and Ears

Ears and Eyes

In another part of the forest wanders a young man, like Rain he is different, however, unlike her he knows he is different, and he knows who he is and what he can do. You can see it in the way he walks, silent and cocky, and in his eyes as well, the knowledge that he is in almost everyway better than a simple human. You see this because of one simple fact, he is an elf.

Nate, despite being rather young in elf years, as he is only seventeen, is tall, slim, and strong, and is much more powerful than even the most athletic and highly developed human. He is one of the Chosen. Marked at birth by his startling silver eyes and his vast power, it was decided that upon his sixteenth birthday he was to leave his Elvin home and set out to find, the "One", the other Chosen.

He was told by the council nothing about whom he sought other than, "She is a young woman no older than you, but like yourself she is also something more. If you fail in your quest to find the "One" the world will fall into the hands of darkness and all that is known will be destroyed!"

"Nice birthday present," he muttered to himself sarcastically. "Well I guess that if you think about it, the elfish pony was a nice bribe as well," he decided with a slight smile. With a soft musical whistle he called to his young horse, and after pausing for a moment to listen he turned around and waited for Shadow to arrive. With barely a sound to announce his arrival, a tall proud elfish stallion stepped into the clearing. "Greetings Shadow," Nate bowed as he greeted his devoted stallion in a smooth mild voice with a musical undertone, "Are you ready?"

The horse nickered softly in reply.

"Yes I know you heard the wolf last night, I heard it too, but it is a ways off. Sadly it is in the direction that we are traveling so stay close my friend, no more long wandering forays to explore on your own," he said in response to Shadow's nervous whinny.

Nate suddenly paused listening, "That's odd, I could swear that I heard a scream from not too far off." With practiced ease and quick reflexes Nate jumped onto Shadow's back and sped off in the direction of the echoing scream with his bow in his hands and using only his thoughts to control where he wanted Shadow to go.


	4. Surprises

Surprises

Meanwhile, Rain was in the middle of a bloody battle with a small group of young Raiders, who were probably out trying to make their first kill.

"Well I am certainly not going to allow it to be me," Rain thought with surprising venom. "God she hated Raiders, pointless, that is what their existence is, absolutely pointless. What cruel person would create creatures whose only purpose in life is to kill, nothing more?"

Suddenly a sharp pain on her left arm focused her attention back on the Raiders. "Where is Silver?" she wondered, beginning to feel a hint of worry for her oldest friend. "He should have been here by now, especially if he is close enough to smell the blood and hear the fight," she added to herself. Her mild frustration at being held up by a few Raiders, turned to down right anger when she suddenly heard the same piercing signal as in her past. Memories began flashing in her mind which she was powerless to block out. Then with a loud scream she voiced her panic, fear, anger, and pain.

As she skillfully avoided the Raiders' blades, she suddenly realized something, "I can call Silver", why did I not think of it before. "Silver has seen Raiders and will know what to do. Sadly I know that one of those times was when he was a young pup and that day still holds many bad memories for both of us." Then with great determination shining in her eyes, she threw back her head and howled, it was a beautiful sound, pure and magical, full of pain, love, longing, and trust, and in it a request for aid.

The sound was so beautiful and unexpected that even the Raiders froze for a moment, fearful of the young woman who before had seemed so human, but now seemed so much more. She was new to them and as Raiders were a race who depended on routine, they were born with a great fear of anything that did not fit into their daily lives of killing and violence. The few seconds that it took for the Raiders to comprehend this call for help and to come to a decision, was all that Rain needed to recover her breath and prepare for whatever the signal would bring.

She did not have to wait long, with a great crashing a determined group of Raiders marched into the clearing in the aid of their brethren.

Rain, overwhelmed by their vast numbers, stood for a moment in shocked silence, "Oh my God what am I going to do!" she thought to herself, "I do not want to die at the hands of a Raider, where is Silver when I need him more than ever? Why hasn't he answered my call?"

Rain in desperation, whistled two long sharp poignant notes, hoping against all odds that Silver was nearby and would respond to the call that she had not used since her days in the village trying to train the young pup.

Rain's call had two unexpected side effects, first it was very close to the call that Nate used to train Shadow, and second it frightened the Raiders into momentarily delaying their attack.

This gave Rain an opening that was needed for her to grab her bow and arrows and to draw, aim, and fire twice into their midst. Her aim as usual was perfect and the arrows went clean through two large Raiders. "Yes!" she shouted with a bit of pride, then flinging herself to the side to avoid a blow from a savage thrust of a Raider's club, she slung her bow on to her back and swiftly drew her hunting knife. Taking a deep breath and saying a quick prayer, she dove into the mass of Raiders and began fighting for her life.

Just when it seemed that she would be overwhelmed by their sheer numbers, Rain heard a familiar howl, and grinning turned just in time to see Silver, with his fangs bared in a hideous snarl, jump into the fray to land at her side. Now if it had just been a few Raiders, or even a slightly smaller hunting party then the Raiders would have fled at such a frightening display of what they saw as magic, however they had already spent so much effort on Rain that to them it seemed pointless to give up now. So now it was simply a fifteen year old girl and a rather large wolf against a hunting party of thirty vicious Raiders.

What would have happened to Rain if she and Silver had been left to defend themselves will probably never be known, and thankfully she did not have to find out, as at that moment something happened that even Rain had not expected.

In Rain's eyes it seemed as if the Gods themselves had sent one of their own to protect her, as a young man not much older than her, riding a midnight black screaming stallion, came thundering into the clearing. The young elf had a fierce look upon his face and was ready to fire a finely made bow that was strung taught in his hand. He reared to a halt beside Rain and pointed his weapon at the Raiders. This was too much for the Raiders and having had their share of surprises for the day, fled in fear, deciding that one young girl was just not worth it. Silver seeing this unusual stranger went into hiding where he could watch the stranger but save Rain if required. He had a strange feeling that Rain would come to no harm with this young boy.

Rain too was speechless as her savior dismounted from his horse and rushed over to see if she was unharmed. Rain looking over his handsome body and face and thought to herself, "Wow, whoever this young man is, he is definitely not human. He is much too graceful, and he radiates a force of energy. His skin is so pale, yet he does not look sickly, in fact he looks strong and well fed, and his eyes glow an intense silver. Definitely not human," she decided. Then as he walked closer and pushed his straight long black hair away from his face she realized something, "He has pointed ears," she thought to herself, and as this realization was too much on top of all her other experiences throughout the day, and she promptly fainted.


	5. Sapphire

Sapphire

"Who is she?" Nate thought to himself as he watched over the unconscious girl as she remained asleep by the fire in his camp that he had shielded from prying eyes with a strong protection spell. "She is strong and tall and fierce but she is still quite young, too young to be alone in the forest." "One thing I am sure of," he thought to himself, "She is definitely a young elf and a very beautiful one at that!" He looked wonderingly over at the sleeping girl child, "She has the appearance of an elf so I am guessing she also has very acute senses and fast reflexes as well, how else would she be able to hold off that many Raiders on her own for as long as she did." He muttered to himself, "Of course I am assuming that she needed help but who did the howls belong to and why the whistle, who was she responding to? How did she become surrounded by so many Raiders?" Nate pondered the strange situation until Rain began to stir, and when she awoke it was to the sight of him watching her with a worried and slightly confused expression on his face. "Where am I?" Rain asked, partly to herself and partly to the young man who was sat watching her with a strange thoughtfulness. Nate who at first was captivated by the mystery of the unknown girl was now captivated by the woman herself, "Wow, she is exquisite, her sapphire eyes are so compelling and her features are beautiful even for an elf" he thought to himself.

"We are in my camp." Nate answered. "It is not far from the clearing where you fought the Raiders."

"Thank you," Rain said softly as she looked around to take in her surroundings and smiled when she felt Silver pacing anxiously, hidden in the shadows. With a soft bark howl, she called him to her and with a silent graceful movement she stood as the large predator appeared and then placed his front paws on her shoulders and stared with wisdom into her eyes. After a solemn moment while neither moved, the wolf seemingly having made his point, gave a happy yip and licked Rain on the cheek before placing his paws on the ground and curling up on the grass at her feet.

Nate watched the whole interaction with a mixture of fear and awe and was still sitting rooted to the spot as Rain gracefully lowered herself to the ground and placed an arm protectively around the wolf.

"So," he said clearing his throat, "I take it this wolf is your friend?" Nate looked with a hint of disbelief at the huge wolf.

Rain replied, "Yes, Silver is my friend and companion, and is almost like a brother to me." She paused for a moment as if listening to something that he could not hear, "He would like to thank you for not trying to harm him as most would if they saw him prowling around their camp." Sighing, she blushed and added, "Silver would also like me to have better manners and said I should say thank you for saving us from the Raiders." After listening for a moment she said, "He also wants me to thank you for taking such good care of me," this she finished saying with a glare at the wolf who was lying in the grass looking infuriatingly innocent.

Nate, who was finally realizing that this girl had more powerful magic than he had originally believed, thought with surprise, "She is talking to the wolf she calls Silver," he exclaimed to himself, "and I think that it understands her!" "So, my lady, I never did hear your name?" Nate queried the still blushing girl.

"It is Rain," she answered softly. "Yours is Nate, is it not?" she asked, trying not to laugh at the surprised expression on his face as she said his name.

"How does she know my name?" he thought, "I never told her, does she read minds?"

"Oh, don't worry I cannot read your mind, I simply asked your beautiful stallion, Shadow is his name, right?" Rain replied to the unspoken question.

"Yes, his name is Shadow and mine is Nate," he answered slowly, still a bit wary about the strength of her magic and how it seemed so uncontrolled and leaked out in everything she did.

He thought to himself, "It is as if she has never been told to, or even tried to control it. I wonder if she even knows that it is there." "I wonder what else she has never been told and what she does not know," Nate muttered softly to himself curious about this young woman, Rain, who had him caught in the mystery of her past.

"Rain, how much about yourself, do you know?" he asked carefully, "Do you know within yourself you possess incredible magic?"

"No!" Rain answered vehemently, "I have no magic! I am just good with animals," she added forcefully.

"But you do have magic, Rain, it is very powerful but untamed, I can help you," Nate softly replied. "Tell me about yourself first, how old are you and where is your family?"

Rain flinched, she couldn't help it, "I am fifteen and I have no family, except for Silver."

Nate seeing the thinly veiled pain in her eyes, decided not to push the matter of her family. "After all," he thought to himself, "It is not uncommon for a young elf to run away or be banished for being opposed to the old ways."

Suddenly, a startling thought hit him, "What if she does not know she is an elf?" he gasped at the possibility. "That would certainly explain a lot, including the nonexistent knowledge of her magic, and her having no family. Perhaps she was kidnapped, or got lost, or left for dead, I wonder?" With these thoughts fresh in his mind he asked one simple statement with which he changed her world forever, "Rain, do you know you are an elf just like me?"

Rain gasped and hunched over as if to protect herself, unexplainable emotions rushed through her, disbelief, surprise, awe, confusion, excitement, and most of all, fear. "What, no it can not be, I am human, my mom was human, and so was the village where we lived, and I don't look like you do!" Rain yelled, even though the last part was just a guess as she had never actually seen what she looked like.

"Oh really!" Nate said with a hint of a smile on his face. Using his own tremendous elf magic he produced a full length antique gold mirror that he leaned against a tree a few steps away from Rain. "So, care to take a look?" he questioned, now out and out grinning.

Taking a few deep breaths and holding on to Silver's fur for support, Rain slowly walked to the mirror and gasped in wonder. She was beautiful! Tall and willowy, with graceful but lean hard muscles, and under her baggy cutoffs and soft vest she radiated soft undeniable strength. She had long straight black hair just like Nate, which she pushed aside to reveal the pointed ears of an elf. Focusing on her face she noticed her smooth pale skin, sculpted features and lastly her piercing sapphire eyes. "Wow!" she was frozen in awe, staring at the mirror trying to take it all in.

"So, do you believe me now?" Nate said with laughter in his voice.

"Yes, I think I believe you now," Rain answered, in a soft voice, followed by an unbelievable musical laugh.


	6. Companions

Companions

The sun was shining hot and bright in the summer sky, sending its warm rays down upon a magical site. Two elves, both mounted on high spirited stallions, raced across a spring meadow while a wolf ran joyfully at the side of the younger stallion and its graceful rider.

Rain laughed as she and Nate raced side by side, controlling their mounts with their thoughts and simply hanging on as they enjoyed the ride. Rain laid flat against her stallion's black neck and clung on for dear life as Darkmoon raced ahead of Shadow and Nate, before slowing down to wait for her companions to catch up.

"Incredible!" Nate said as he dismounted from Shadow, "That stallion of yours sure is fast, even Silver was struggling to keep up". "Silver enjoys the chase," said Rain smiling.

It had been almost a full twelve moon cycle since her life had been changed by one simple realization, she was an elf! Now having just started her sixteenth year, she was finally at peace with herself. She had gotten to know Nate very well and had learned much about herself, her race, and her history. She now had almost complete control of her magic and her power. She had grown taller and fuller, as most women do but she knew her eyes still held a great wisdom and sadness, which betrayed a great sorrow and a difficult past.

Rain only seemed to come to life around her new friends. She looked around at the camp and at her companions and smiled in content, life was perfect, peaceful, and full of new adventures. After Rain and Nate finished grooming their horses, she settled down with her arm around Silver and waited for Nate to start her daily lesson.

Nate sat comfortably by the fire and began, "So Rain, you now know how to control your magic, you know and understand what you are, and you know how to survive and travel in the wild. In my opinion you have now learned all I have to teach you and have excelled in any task that you have been given." As Nate continued, Rain glowed under his praise.

"However," Nate continued, "I have failed to tell you who you are, and for that I am eternally sorry. I have been selfish wanting to keep you to myself." Rain was startled, Nate had shared everything with her and given her new hope.

Nate hesitated, "Rain you are more than an elf, as am I, we are the Chosen of our people. I have neglected my responsibilities and ignored the rising darkness that is threatening to overcome all of the Forgotten Realm." Nate continued to speak as Rain sat frozen by the sound of his voice and by the words he was saying, "We must return to my city, we must find the source of this evil and destroy it or it will destroy not only us but all that is good in this world. We must hurry as I fear that it already grows late and time is running out." Nate finished his speech and looked at Rain who was still staring at him in shocked silence.

"Oh my god!" she thought. "This is too much, I mean being an elf I can adjust to, but having to save a whole world and who are the Chosen?" Out loud she asked Nate, "Do I have a choice?"

Nate answered, "No neither of us really has a choice. Get some rest we leave at first light." Nate and Rain lay down but neither was able to sleep well as their thoughts churned through their heads at what tomorrow would bring.


	7. Magic

Magic

At first light they awoke and quickly packing their belongings, mounted the horses and set off at a fast gallop towards the forest. Both were lost in their own memories, Nate excited at the prospect of returning home, and Rain nervous and unsure about meeting Nate's kin as well as others of her race.

They were so distracted that neither noticed the nervousness of the stallions or Silver's alert and cautious stance that was normally a warning of danger, it was because of this that they raced unprepared, straight into a trap. Suddenly they were surrounded by men with evil grins on their faces. Rain let out a shriek as Darkmoon reared, but it took less than a moment to calm him enough for her to safely slide off his back. She crouched low with her bow strung, and a snarling Silver at her side. Nate had no trouble controlling Shadow and was dismounted and prepared to fight in one swift movement. He was only slowed by his worry for Rain and cursed his own stupidity for not paying attention to their surroundings.

Nate after a quick glance at Rain to make sure she was safe began to examine their enemies and turned pale as he realized who they were facing. He contacted Rain through mind speech, "Rain, listen to me, these are evil mages, magic users, and even though our combined power is greater than theirs this will still be a hard battle. I think we may be close enough to summon some of my kin. I need you to call on the animals, preferably hunters and predators that can inflict physical damage that will slow the mages and break their concentration." Can you do that?" Nate asked her.

"Yes, I will try my best." Rain replied.

"Be careful," they both thought at the same time.

There were seventeen mages in total and even though they were mostly of the lower ranks there were a few of them who would put up a hard fight. However not many wizards would face two very powerful elves, their proud elfish stallions, a very large snarling wolf, and the countless large predators that were slowly gathering around the young woman, who seemed to be able to control them, even without words. One animal that she called seemed to be slightly smaller in size and build than Silver but was pure white and had the grace and agility of a cat, the strange creature was beautiful. "I think I will call you Frost," Rain said silently.

When the mages realized what was going on, they decided to swiftly attack and with a single word from one of the mages lightning bolts shot out of thin air to land just inches from Rain. Then on an unspoken signal the predators sprang towards the mages, with Rain racing among them with Silver at her side. Nate froze for a second at the magical beauty of the scene before him, a single beautiful elf racing at a group of mages accompanied by a pack of predators of every shape, size, and breed.

However he did not wait long and before Rain reached the first line of mages, Nate mounted Shadow in one graceful leap and raced forward, firing his bow straight through one of the mages as he approached. Five mages turned on Rain but with her knife now drawn she was skillfully darting forward and then twisting away from the mages swords and knives. Rain's speed was making it impossible for the mages spells to actually touch her.

Nate saw her and began to rush forward to help, but then he saw Silver and Frost on either side matching each other leap for leap, slash for slash, and he know that nothing would happen to Rain while even one of them survived. However he kept an eye on her as he quickly attacked and dodged spells and knives alike. Nate was reluctant to use his magic as he would first have to unshield it and then he would be revealing how powerful he really was, which would be dangerous for both him and Rain.

Nate needed to make sure Rain was alright so he went into a meditative state where his body was still fighting but his mind was focused on Rain. Her opponents now numbered only three, the two unlucky ones being dragged away by the summoned predators.

Rain was beginning to tire and the strain of using her magic to repeatedly heal her summoned friends was beginning to show in her actions. "I cannot do this for much longer but I must, I must survive," she thought as she stumbled. Suddenly one of the mages caught her off guard and with a flick of his knife made a long but shallow gash down the left side of her face just missing her eye. Nate had to use all of his self control not to rush to her aid. He took his anger out on one of his two remaining opponents, using a small amount of his magic to hit the mage with a fire spell, burning the man to a crisp that even the animals would not touch.

Rain, was furious that she had let her guard down and even more furious that the mage who had got in a lucky hit was no older than her and seemed overjoyed that he had finally been able to draw blood. "Well, I think its time to repay the favor," she thought to herself. Holding both Silver and Frost back with her mind she told them, "No, the young one is mine."

Her companions glared murderously at the young boy while telling him in mind speak, "You are lucky my master is here or I would tear out your throat." The boy visibly paled as he looked into the eyes of the large wolf, and was terrified at the almost human intelligence that he could see in them. The wolf's sapphire eyes were almost perfect matches to the woman's he realized, and as Rain sprang forward those eyes were the last thing he ever saw.

Nate saw the boy fall and realized that it was done, they had won. He raced over to examine Rain's wound but she would not let him, and would not use her power to heal it until every animal that she had called upon was healed, and all the dead were buried. Upon examining the cut he realized that even when she healed it that it was going to scar due to a spell on the blade yet when she healed it, the scar, instead of ruining her stunning beauty seemed to add both her beauty and to the mystery of her past.


End file.
